Tag Archives: Power of Social Media

Influence through the power of Social Media

Russia. That is all that one really must state to get a conversation going about the power and the influence which can be obtained through advertisements, social media, and posting. Regardless of the position that one has about this specific matter, it does showcase that Social media has become a dangerous tool of influence in the world. Social Media is Powerful, not just in the political arena but in other sectors as well. This article will expound on three points in which Social media excels in power. These are politics, mind and emotions, and personality development.

Political

In the last election for President, it was stated that President Trump won the election because he understood the media platform needed to win the vote. CNN reported in that “FDR was the first “radio president. JFK emerged as the first “television” president. Barack Obama broke through as the first “Internet” president. Next up, Prepare to meet Donald Trump, possibly the first “social media” and “reality TV” president.

It is not just the President that has used Twitter (as is his favorite form of mass communication) and social media to reach and influence the public. Ben Carson was essentially taken out of the campaign by the tweets of another candidate. Liberals and activists have used social media since the election to stir the political pot on various issues. Rumors have even circulated of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama using social media to pay for protesting and rioting. Whether the information is true does not matter at this point. The fact that it has been shared on social media.

Emotions and the mind

Wired magazine reported in July of 2017 that Social media has hijacked our minds. The report tells that the power of social media has had both influenced our decision-making skills, our ability to process certain information, and our neurological functions. Other reports have suggested that the power to hijack our minds has given marketing platforms the ability to hit neurological triggers, making it appears we are rewarded when we engage in their marketing campaigns, even though in truth we owe nothing to such markets and are losing capital.

Emotionally speaking, there is not a big difference between the techniques which have been used in television for ages and that which is used in social medial. The only real differentiating factor comes into play with the like, dislike, and the friend and defriend button. Essentially, these features give the user the power to decide who they will talk to and what the person sees. From the emotional dependence of friends as well as from the perspective of fixing broken relationships, this could be a rather catastrophic blow to one’s emotional state. Consider. If a person were to have an argument with a physical person, that person can go to the person and make amends. However, with social media, if the person is blocked they have no avenue, the tie is severed forever.

Personality Development

Should one consider the dependence upon social media and mobile devices, he or she will note that there has been a decline in the number of hours spent in creative activities and personality development and in increase in being fed what that person is to believe and how they are to react. In a way, social media has shaped the frame of the younger generation’s personalities. This is an in creditable power from those who post on social media sites. And where there are posts which state that they empower the individual to do this or to do that, the truth is that the empowerment is only based upon the data and material that the person chooses to give to the viewer. It is a skewed perception.

When people forget to think for themselves, when there is not the ability to try and to fail at something, and when the general consensus of the population is to go with that which is seen on the screen and not that which they experience, then the likelihood that the person will suffer from various mental disorders is high. Add to this the non-development of grammatical, mathematical, reading (as in the classic book sense of the word) and such, and you have quite a determent on personality development.

Conclusion

It has been stated that with great power there comes great responsibility. Such is true for Social media. However, I believe that the flippancy that has been used with the media has yielded results that have not been fully weighed. We tweet, we post, we comment and we share without any concerns of the power and influence that it may have on another. So long as narcissism is catered to and our own personal development is not effected, we are pleased to wallow in our own selective dillusions.